Seaway Cruisers Classic Car Club, Inc. July 2018 Newslette r My Favorite Tool By John Miller III I wrote this article for the Sunbeam Car Club, Tigers East/Alpines East Newsletter, Rootes Review & thought I would share it with the Cruisers! John, III I bought my first Sunbeam in 1973 ~ 45 Years Ago, (a 1964 ~ Series IV Alpine) and I STILL have it. The car had a tool kit roll with a few Superslim Spanners (not a complete kit). It wasn't until 1984 when I joined TE/AE, that I learned the tool kit should have more tools. So, I started to look for the missing tools to complete the tool kit for the Alpine. I now have many more English Tools (too many?) for my 9 Sunbeams (too many?). In the photo; At top, I painted a toolbox BRG and added a set of SUNBEAM letters. Next row down, LtoR is the tool roll, 2 Dunlap tire irons, a brass tire valve tool, 2 Lucas ignition & distributor tools, 4 box spanners, & Tommy bar, Tecalemit Grease Gun, 2 screw drivers, an Alpine oil filter strap wrench (homemade from Workshop Manual), Alpine oil sump wrench (hex), wheel brace (jack handle), nave plate extractor, King Dick spanner (adjustable), Pliers, 6 Superslim open-end spanners, and a Thor knock off hammer (copper & rawhide handle). I now have the Elusive Sunbeam Tool Kit together, but, now it's too rare and expensive to keep in the car! Now let s hear your answer to What s Your Favorite Tool? Interested in going to the Syracuse Nationals Thursday afternoon and returning Sunday? The Largest Car Show in the Northeast! July 20-22, 2018 NY State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY Call Richard Douglass at 315-323-2712 he has rooms secured! 1
From the President John Miller III August 3, 2018 for August Newsletter, Website & Membership Sandy Bigelow (315) 347-3945 news.seawaycruisers@gmail.com Seaway Cruisers Classic Car Club, Inc. ~ Established 1986 ~ PO Box 109 Heuvelton, NY 13654 seawaycruisers@yahoo.com www.seawaycruisers.com Hello Cruisers, how is your summer going? July is here and we need your help with the 58 th Annual Seaway Festival Car Show. There are a lot of little jobs to do before the car show. Of course, there are many little jobs to do during the car show. Here are the dates in July that we need your help: Monday, July 23 rd Goody Bags at VP Linda Brown s home on Route 58 in Morristown (top of the hill on the left). The Club will have hamburgers and hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a dish to pass and lawn chair. (Bring any raffle baskets please.) 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 25 th Cruise-in at the Ogdensburg Library Park with music and food available bring a lawn chair. 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 26 th Set up car show field at the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port grounds. I ll bring cold drinks. 6 p.m. Saturday, July 28 th Seaway Festival Parade Green St., 10 a.m. Sunday, July 29 th 58 th Seaway Festival Car Show and Flea Market. Set up tents at 7 a.m. President: John Miller III (315) 347-3414 Vice President: Linda Brown (315) 375-6788 OFFICERS Secretary: Brandon Baldwin (315) 265-2717 Treasurer: Glory Martel 404 Mansion Avenue Ogdensburg, NY 13669 (315) 393-4436 DIRECTORS John Amell (315) 344-7025 Dean Marshall (315) 344-6422 Pat Matthews (315) 393-3810 Mike Hirsch (315) 344-6339 Scott Sutherland (315) 386-3455 Ron Day (315) 344-8823 Frank Howie (315) 394-0259 Our car show is a big event with many things to do. I ll list some of the things you could help with: Parking cars in the right places this is a big one that needs at least 10 people Registration desk needs at least 4 people Car and pedestrian gates 50/50 ticket sales 2 people Flea market Basket raffle Judging the Best of Show classes Cooking lunch Setting up the trophies If the weather is good, we could have about 200 cars and that means it s the biggest car show in St. Lawrence County. With your help it will be the best car show in St. Lawrence County! Check the event calendar in this newsletter for other dates in July. The meeting will be Monday, July 23 rd at 6 p.m. at George & Lina Brown s for the goody bag stuffing and BBQ. Please help as much as you can in July. I hope to see you there. 2
Ask a Tech By Brandon Baldwin The High Cost of Buying Cheap Parts I'm doing this article because this subject has been bothering me. I completely understand that many of us feel that we don't have the luxury of buying parts at the higher price point to fix our cars or trucks. I understand that there is also the problem from time to time of price gouging. How do you know when this is happening? If you have someone else doing the work, how do you know if you can trust them? Lastly, even if all the rest of what I mentioned here is on the up-and-up, how do you know if your mechanic is competent enough to only be fixing what is the problem, and not what is perceived to be the problem, but then you are buying additional parts because the parts didn't fix the first problem? ALL of this is a problem. But, today let's address the first one: cheap parts. We can cover the rest at a later time, if you are interested. Just like cheap clothes hurts the American economy, so do cheap parts. Have you ever been to a parts store and they give you three grades of parts? Of course there are the cheapest brands, which you may never have heard of, a middle grade, and the highest grade, which you may have heard of the brand. What is the difference? Why can the first one make the same part cheaper? Well, they aren't! I'll give you some common examples I see over and over again and it makes me sick. Example 1: Ignition Coils. Far too many times, people buy the cheapest coil to correct their misfire problems. The cheap aftermarket ones don't last long, almost never have the same ignition waveform, or the same power as the originals. I've seen many buy the cheap coil, and a year later, buy the same one again because it failed. Do you have enough money to buy the part twice and enough money to have the technician install the same one again? It would have been cheaper to buy the right coil the first time! I've seen ones that didn't actually fail (this is the waveform part, meaning HOW the coil fires) but because they operate just a little differently than OEM, the check engine light comes on or it causes the catalytic converter to fail. If you have ever priced a catalytic converter, whew, are they expensive. Therefore, buying anything but at least manufacturer grade or higher is shooting yourself in the foot. Oh, and one more thing: if the technician says "we should replace all of the coils while I have this apart." Do it. All the coils are the same age. It's cheaper to have them all replaced at the same time (labor) and you'll save again in the long run. Again, too many times I've recommend this, only to have the same person come back 2-4 months later and tell me that they are having the same symptoms as the first time, and I find it's another coil. Example 2: Wheel Bearings. This one is more difficult to determine the difference in parts, so I'm going to tell you to make it easy. It's the type of bearing and the quality of the metal, plus the quality of the fit of the bearing. Of course, there are the differences between those that have the ABS sensors and those that don't: price difference. And, there are those that are the entire hub assembly (also called a unitized wheel bearing) vs a press in bearing. But, let's cover the first part first: the quality. The better quality bearings are typically made with better metal, and with more precision, and with a better style of bearing. For instance, if I can get the tapered roller bearing instead of regular roller bearing, they can take side loads better. In the long, run, they last longer, and therefore, I don't have to replace a bearing twice. Ever have to replace a pressed bearing? The bearing and seals are cheaper, but it's the labor that makes up the price. Pressing a bearing leaves room for failure too. I've had to replace a bearing that was done just hours ago because the previous tech hadn't pressed it properly. This isn't something to play with! Bearings are a safety concern as well. If your bearing completely fails, the tire may lockup or even fall off while driving. Buy the better bearing and have it installed by the most competent technician you know. There are other examples too, such as air fuel ratio sensors/oxygen sensor (buy OEM only) and PCV valves, and cam phasers. What it comes down to, especially if you are focused just on your own wallet and not on saving American jobs, is "if you can't afford to do it right the first time, how can you afford to do it twice?" 3
Seaway Cruisers at the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum 4
2018 Event Calendar Day Date Time Event Description Thursday Thru Sept 6 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays Thru Oct. 2 6-8 p.m. 5 Highway Legends Car, Truck & Bike Club Cruise-In, P & M Construction, 759 Starbuck Ave, Watertown across from NY Airbrake Malone Auto Club Cruise-in, host venue TBA Wednesdays Thru Oct. 6-8 p.m. Cruise-in at Twin Leaf in Hogansburg Saturday June 30 10 a.m. 6 p.m Sunday July 1 10 a.m. 3 p.m Wednesday July 4 July 14 July 14 6 p.m. parade Saturday July 21 9 a.m. Sat-Sun July 21, 22 Fri-Sun July 20-22 Monday July 23 6 p.m. Wednesday Jul 25 6-9 p.m. Thursday July 26 6 p.m. Saturday July 28 10 a.m. Sunday July 29th Saturday August 18 7am tent setup 9 a.m. 4 p.m. View more at http://seawaycruisers.com/events Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina Cruise-In, 31 Holland St., Alexandria Bay. Food & drinks available, entertainment, vendors, door prizes & raffles. For info call Curtis at 315-482- 4511 Ext. 510 Robert J Freego AMVETS Post 282 Annual Classic Car Show; registration for show vehicle 10 a.m. $10 per vehicle; awards 3 p.m.; info 315-384- 4186. Morristown s 4 th of July Parade, Chicken Bar-B-Q and Car Show 51 st Annual Potsdam Antique & Classic Car Show, Ives Park, Potsdam, NY Star Lake Firemen s Field Day begins at noon; fireworks at dusk Parade at Hopkinton-Ft. Jackson Fire Department Annual Field Day. If interested in driving your car in parade email bcwood1749@yahoo.com B. Wood, Asst. Chief 39 th Annual International Auto Show & Flea Market, Malone Rec Park, 64 State St., Malone, NY. Call Doug Recore for info at 518-651-7323 Syracuse Nationals Largest car show in the Northeast, over 8,000 show cars in 2016. For info visit www.syracusenationals.com Goody Bag Stuffing and Bar-B-Q at George & Linda Brown s Cruise-in at Ogdensburg Library Park with music and food available Set up car show field at the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Grounds Seaway Festival Parade - start on Green Street Seaway Festival Car Show, Bridge & Port Authority Grounds, Ogdensburg, NY. Thousand Islands International Bridge Systems 80 th Anniversary Celebration at Collins Landing includes a vintage car show. Entertainment by the 10 th Mtn Division Band, refreshments, demonstrations, etc. Rain or shine. ( Destinations tab)
Answer to puzzle on page 4 $1000 Donated to the Seaway Festival PLEASE REMEMBER your donation for the basket raffle Above, Chris Cole, Seaway Festival Chairperson, accepts a check for $750 from John Miller III, President of the Seaway Cruisers Classic Car Club. The Club is also paying for the band ($250) that plays at Library Park during the Festival. Seaway Cruisers Classic Car Club, Inc. promotes interest in antique, classic and customized vehicles and aids in the restoration, preservation, and enjoyment of these vehicles. The Club is organized exclusively for social and recreational purposes including the increase of communication and fellowship among persons interested in these objectives through social activities. Annual membership is open to anyone who supports the organization s mission and submits an application. Seaway Cruisers Classic Car Club, Inc. PO Box 109 Heuvelton, NY 13654 6